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The question really is: what aspect of you do you want to preserve? You will most certainly change over the years. You now will be very different from you in 10

by Hermel 13y ago

The question really is: what aspect of you do you want to preserve? You will most certainly change over the years. You now will be very different from you in 100 years. Your immortal you in 500 years might be as different from your current you as your grandchildren. Do you really care more about your own existence in 500 years than about the existence of your grandchildren in 100 years? The solution to immortality is to embrace the idea that you won't stay the same anyway and that instead of caring so much about your host body, it might be more efficient to preserve what you value in other forms: e.g. your genome and values in your children or your ideas in books. If you write down your thoughts into a book today, these thoughts are more likely to be preserved for 500 years than if you were immortal and relied on your memory.

eli_gottlieb 13y ago
Nah, that's way scarier. Looking at the sweep of history, I can take comfort that my mortal shell won't last long enough to witness much more of the damn stuff, but I'm terrified that my thoughts and values are simply going to be swept away in a tide of blood and a return to a more miserable human condition.
Ensorceled 13y ago
> Your immortal you in 500 years might be as different from your current you as your grandchildren. Do you really care more about your own existence in 500 years than about the existence of your grandchildren in 100 years? As somebody with no kids ... yes. This is a strange argument since at no time between now and 500 years from now will there be a point where I want to grow old and die. So asking me if I care about 500 year old me is irrelevant, I don't want to die.
- BlackDeath3 13y ago
  Related, why should one care more about their own children/grandchildren/etc. than themselves? Perpetuation of the species? Why?
  - will_work4tears 13y ago
    Love? I want to live too, very much so. If it came to risking my life to guarantee the safety of my son, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I'd give my life to save his if it came to it. I'd probably do the same for my Mom or Dad too so I don't see it as a "perpetuation of the species" thing at all.
    - BlackDeath3 13y ago
      Interesting. It just all sounds so silly to me. I imagine everybody all sacrificing themselves for each other. Sounds pointless.
      - will_work4tears 13y ago
        Well, to be honest, I'm not going to run around sacrificing myself for just anybody. And I'd definitely not just going to jump into such a thing without thinking there aren't any other options. And it'd only be a close loved one. A distant friend would be a tough call. A stranger? Probably not. It seems almost borderline Sociopath to not love at least somebody that you'd be even willing to consider sacrificing yourself for. Have you ever been tested? (not trying to be insulting, genuinely curious)
        BlackDeath3 13y ago
        Yeah, I didn't really mean willy-nilly sacrifice on-a-dime. No, I've never been tested for "sociopathy" (I cannot imagine that this is something that a lot of people do), and I'm not sure that I wouldn't sacrifice myself for somebody else, but regardless of my personal feelings on the matter, regardless of whether or not it is sociopathic, isn't it still a little silly?
        will_work4tears 13y ago
        No, not really. If a car is barreling toward my son, and I can only push him out of the way by jumping in front of the car and getting hit myself (but pushing him free of it), I'd do it, and wouldn't consider such a sacrifice silly at all if I witnessed another doing it. Now think about the reverse: Several people see you watch somebody you know and personally love get hit by a car, and notice you could have saved them and one of them asks you about it. Would you feel bad at all saying "Yeah, I could have jumped out and saved him, but I would have died and that would be silly?"
gordaco 13y ago
Another question: what happens to a brain that stores so many years of memories? If there are serious complications, and I'm pretty sure that there are, chances are that they're going to be next to impossible to solve, unless some serious alteration (more brain capacity or memory erasing) happens. I'm also assuming that any life expanding treatment would tackle senility issues (maybe with brain-repairing nanomachines? Who knows). If not, it would be far, far less useful.

by Hermel 13y ago

eli_gottlieb 13y ago

Nah, that's way scarier. Looking at the sweep of history, I can take comfort that my mortal shell won't last long enough to witness much more of the damn stuff, but I'm terrified that my thoughts and values are simply going to be swept away in a tide of blood and a return to a more miserable human condition.

Ensorceled 13y ago

> Your immortal you in 500 years might be as different from your current you as your grandchildren. Do you really care more about your own existence in 500 years than about the existence of your grandchildren in 100 years? As somebody with no kids ... yes. This is a strange argument since at no time between now and 500 years from now will there be a point where I want to grow old and die. So asking me if I care about 500 year old me is irrelevant, I don't want to die.

BlackDeath3 13y ago
Related, why should one care more about their own children/grandchildren/etc. than themselves? Perpetuation of the species? Why?
- will_work4tears 13y ago
  Love? I want to live too, very much so. If it came to risking my life to guarantee the safety of my son, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I'd give my life to save his if it came to it. I'd probably do the same for my Mom or Dad too so I don't see it as a "perpetuation of the species" thing at all.
  - BlackDeath3 13y ago
    Interesting. It just all sounds so silly to me. I imagine everybody all sacrificing themselves for each other. Sounds pointless.
    - will_work4tears 13y ago
      Well, to be honest, I'm not going to run around sacrificing myself for just anybody. And I'd definitely not just going to jump into such a thing without thinking there aren't any other options. And it'd only be a close loved one. A distant friend would be a tough call. A stranger? Probably not. It seems almost borderline Sociopath to not love at least somebody that you'd be even willing to consider sacrificing yourself for. Have you ever been tested? (not trying to be insulting, genuinely curious)
      - BlackDeath3 13y ago
        Yeah, I didn't really mean willy-nilly sacrifice on-a-dime. No, I've never been tested for "sociopathy" (I cannot imagine that this is something that a lot of people do), and I'm not sure that I wouldn't sacrifice myself for somebody else, but regardless of my personal feelings on the matter, regardless of whether or not it is sociopathic, isn't it still a little silly?
        will_work4tears 13y ago
        No, not really. If a car is barreling toward my son, and I can only push him out of the way by jumping in front of the car and getting hit myself (but pushing him free of it), I'd do it, and wouldn't consider such a sacrifice silly at all if I witnessed another doing it. Now think about the reverse: Several people see you watch somebody you know and personally love get hit by a car, and notice you could have saved them and one of them asks you about it. Would you feel bad at all saying "Yeah, I could have jumped out and saved him, but I would have died and that would be silly?"

gordaco 13y ago

Another question: what happens to a brain that stores so many years of memories? If there are serious complications, and I'm pretty sure that there are, chances are that they're going to be next to impossible to solve, unless some serious alteration (more brain capacity or memory erasing) happens. I'm also assuming that any life expanding treatment would tackle senility issues (maybe with brain-repairing nanomachines? Who knows). If not, it would be far, far less useful.